What Ever Happened to the Dursleys?
by queenofsaturn14
Summary: What will happen to Harry's magic fearing relatives after they are forced into the magical world for their own protection and end up in even greater danger then they would have been in if they had stayed in Privet Drive... Please review!
1. Goodbye Privet Drive

**Chapter 1 **

I sat in the back of the large, black jeep, squashed uncomfortably between my mother and the door. I craned my neck and pressed my face against the cool glass of the window, to watch as the house I had grown up in faded into the distance, growing smaller and smaller until the car turned a corner and it disappeared from sight. I swivelled round in my seat and, with a sigh, stretched my legs out, making the most of the vast amount of leg room.

It was unfortunate that the shoulder space was not as generous. My mother's pointed elbow jabbed into my arm, and I had to hug my broad shoulder into my body to avoid decapitating her. Her oversized handbag sat on her right, hogging valuable space. Beside it, was a small man named Dedalus, who was wearing a peculiar beetroot coloured hat. I eyed the wand resting on his lap, and understood why the handbag resided on the seat.

Both of my parents feared the magic that ran in my cousin's blood, but I had always been jealous of it. I was always the bigger, the stronger, the better of the two of us but it was him that got to run around, making potions, flying broomsticks and getting everything he wanted with a flick of what essentially was a stick. After being attacked by some _creature _from the wizarding world, I realised what Harry had to deal with all the time. I was better off as a normal person than having to fight off soul-sucking ghosts and fight wars against immortal beings, but now, I was caught up in the magical world I had once longed for whether I liked it or not.

"So," I broke the awkward silence that hung over the back seat of the car. In the front, Hestia, another wizard, was giving my father directions in hushed, clipped tones.

"Where are we going?"

Dedalus seemed to bounce in his seat, causing Mum to move even further away from him.

"A safe house. I can't say much more but I'm sure you'll like it and... Oh look at that!"

He pointed out the window and I followed his gesture to an empty field. I was about to inquire where the so-called 'safe house' was when, Dedalus threw the door open and hopped out. Mum and I exchanged a look, and she pursed her lips. Before she could say anything, I opened my own door and followed Dedalus to the middle of the field, where he was staring at something in the sky. I looked up, and faltered in my step, my mouth hanging wide open.

A monster was soaring towards the field. It had a long, scaled, reptilian body with a sharp beak and talon feet that clenched in and out as it flew, as if the beast was getting ready to carry someone off. Its wings were black and feathery, spanning at least twice the length of the body. The creature had small, blood red eyes buried deep into its skull. I couldn't help but scream, as it raced towards Dedalus, who was holding his wand aloft, chanting something I couldn't hear over the blood pounding in my ears.

A white flame erupted from the end of Dedalus's wand, engulfing the creature's entire body. A moment later, it was gone. I stared at the empty space above Dedalus's head.

"Dudders!" a voice trilled, as Mum tottered through the grass in her high heeled shoes, "Why were you screaming, Pumpkin?"

I gaped at her.

"Didn't you see it?"

"See what, Mushroom?"

"The monster that almost ate us all!"

"I think you must be a bit confused, with going into hiding and all that," Dad, who had plodded through the field after Mum, huffed through his moustache.

"No... what- Dedalus, tell them!"

Dedalus waded through the grass, that was ankle high to everyone else, but came up to his waist. He looked pale and there was a concerned look in his eye.

"Dudley," he said, utterly calmly, "I have no idea what you are talking about."


	2. The Safe House

**Chapter 2 **

_What? What just happened? Why did nobody else see it? It was huge! How did Dedalus kill it if he didn't see it? What? What is happening? I want everything to go back to normal! _

These thoughts whirled through my brain as Hestia, with our luggage hovering above her head, took hold of my clammy hand and Dad gripped the other with his meaty paw. I was jerked out of my daze when the ground disappeared from beneath my feet and my vision spun. I tried to yell but my breath was whipped away. Before I knew it, I landed with a thud in someone's driveway, my body colliding painfully with the tarmac. I closed my eyes, willing the world to stay still.

"Dreadfully sorry about that, chaps."

I opened one eye to see Dedalus gathering our suitcases up from where they lay in a heap next to the front door of a small terraced house.

"I should have warned you that disapparating isn't exactly pleasant the first time, but heyho, at least we're here safely!"

I clambered groggily to my feet to take in my surroundings. I was standing in a small driveway, empty of any cars, on a street of terraced houses. Dad was helping Mum brush grass off her coat from where she had landed in the small garden in front of the house, that I assumed was the safe house we had been promised. It was far from my imaginings of a castle surrounded by a moat and armed guards. The house didn't seem very safe at all.

"Dedalus, Hestia-" I began, but was abruptly cut off by Dedalus.

"No time for questions now, dear boy," he said, turning towards my parents, "Why don't you all go inside, while we... check the security."

Dad loitered outside, reluctant to enter the house but headed for the door, which was marked number thirty-seven, after Mum shoved him forward.

"But what about the thing, I just saw? why-"

"Now, Duddy," Mum spoke to me in the sing-song tone one uses when talking to small children, "You heard what the man said, come inside."

I cast a quick glance at the two wizards who were waving their wands in circular motions at the bottom of the drive, before following her through the door, which opened onto a small cloakroom.

"Oh, isn't this exciting, moving into a new home!" Mum trilled. I didn't bother to point out that just this morning she had been refusing to leave Privet Drive to live among wizards or, as she called them, mental cases. She must have thought the screaming-at-something-nobody-else-could-see incident had really shaken me up and was trying to make me feel better about our situation.

"Petunia!" Dad bellowed from deeper inside the house, "Come and see this painting! I could swear it was moving! I must be going mad!"

Mum frowned, and rushed off in the direction his voice was coming from. I moved from the cloakroom into the living room, lingering at the window, trying to get a look at what Dedalus and Hestia were doing. I half listened to Mum and Dad arguing about whether or not the painting was moving, hoping they stayed there so that when the wizards came into the house, I could question them on the monster I had seen Dedalus kill. He did kill it, I know he did. Maybe Mum and Dad weren't at the right angle to see it, and Dedalus pretended nothing had happened so he didn't alarm them...

I watched as he and Hestia waved their wands, their mouths moving and forming words I could not hear through the window. The air in front of them was writhing and vibrating, so the houses on the other side of the street looked more like shimmering splodges of colour than buildings. Several minutes later, Hestia tucked her wand into the sleeve of her billowing, black robes and said something to Dedalus. He finished his mutterings and turned to answer her. I moved closer to the window, trying, and failing, to read their lips. What felt like hours later, they started moving towards the house.

I sprang from my look-out point and hurtled back into the cloakroom as the door swung open and Hestia appeared hauling Mum's large pink suitcase, her flowered rucksack slung over her shoulder.

"Dudley," she nodded coolly at me.

"Hestia, did you see the-"

I trailed off as Dedalus scurried over the threshold, Dad's luggage in tow.

"Where's my stuff? Do I have to bring it in myself?"

"Well, about that," Dedalus deposited the turquoise hold-all and the golf bag on the floor and went into the living room. I followed him, pushing past Hestia who was struggling to collapse the handle of Mum's case.

"To be blunt, you will not be staying here with your parents." The words tumbled from his mouth in a rush. I raised my eyebrows, taken aback.

"Are you telling me, that not only have I left my childhood home, but I am now leaving my only family members as well?"

Dedalus gulped.

"Y-Yes."

Hestia appeared in the doorway and sighed.

"There's something we have to tell you."


	3. A Frightening Revelation

**Chapter 3 **

An awkward silence hung in the air as I stared at the two wizards who stood before me.

"Well? What is it you have to tell me?"

Dedalus wrung his hands together and hopped nervously from foot to foot. Hestia sighed.

"You might want to sit down-"

"I'm fine standing!" I snapped in response.

Dedalus exchanged a look with Hestia.

"W-well," Dedalus stuttered, "You- you remember what you saw in the field- don't you?"

I snorted.

"Of _course _I remember the enormous monster thing that almost killed us all! That you pretended you hadn't seen to make me look like a fool! _What was it?_"

"An _invisibilis monstrum_," said Hestia, "An invisible monster, a creation of dark magic."

"An invisible monster? Is that why Mum and Dad didn't see it?"

Hestia nodded gravely, as if I had just asked her if someone had died. Then it clicked into place in my mind.

"But... if it is invisible... and they couldn't see it... then how come I could?"

When neither wizard answered me, my heart started to pound, threatening to burst straight through my chest. My hands felt clammy and I had to put a hand on the wall to steady myself. If the... _creature_ I had seen was invisible, then why did I see it? Hestia seemed to have seen it, and I knew that Dedalus had. But they were both wizards... which could only mean one thing...

"Am I a wizard too?" I blurted out.

Dedalus raised his head.

"I wouldn't think so... If you were, you would have developed further powers by now. You haven't, have you?"

"I-I don't think so, no."

"Has anything strange ever happened to you, Dudley?" Hestia asked, "Anything you couldn't explain? Ever wished for something to happen and it did? Moved objects without touching them? Gotten angry with someone and accidently hurt them?"

I vaguely thought of all the times when I had hurt Harry, shoved him or punched him for taking my things. I had gotten into fights in school, too, but I had always intentionally inflicted injury on others. As for the other two symptoms, I had never been affected by either of them.

I shook my head. Dedalus scratched his chin.

"As you have probably guessed, you seeing the _invisibilis monstrum_ is very peculiar. They were created recently, no more than a few years ago, by Death Eaters-"

I stared at him blankly.

"They were created by the followers of the Dark Lord."

I continued with my lack of facial expression as Dedalus searched for the right words.

"He won't understand," said Hestia, "Muggles have no idea about what goes on in our world, Dedalus."

I rounded on her.

"What did you just call me?"

"A muggle," she explained, "is a term for a non-magical person, like you. Or what we thought you were, anyway."

"What am I then?"

She shrugged.

"I don't know. We don't know all that much about the _invisibilis monstrum_ because, as Dedalus was trying to say, they have only recently been created. When we wizards see them, we kill them and usually it is easy enough, but they have caused lots of problems and in large numbers, they could be lethal. This is why you cannot stay with your parents."

My heart, having calmed down, sank.

"I'm not, like, putting them in danger or anything am I?"

Another shrug.

"Possibly. But the reason you should leave is to go and see Professor Flip. He once worked in..." she trailed off, realising that once again, I would not understand, "He has been researching and investigating the _invisibilis monstrum _and would be the most qualified person to help you."

I nodded slowly, not wanting to go but understanding the necessity of it.

"You should say goodbye to your family, but don't tell them what we've told you. I'm going to send Professor Flip a Patronus, to let him know you're coming."

Hestia went outside to make what I assumed was the magical version of a phone call, while Dedalus patted my elbow, the highest point on my body he could reach, and muttered something about getting my luggage. I walked slowly through the living room to find Mum and Dad, who were standing in the dining room, continuing to argue over the painting.

"Dudders!" Mum exclaimed when she saw me, "Come and look at this! Daddy is convinced it moves, but I think it's just a trick of the light. Pictures can't move, it would be impossible!"

"But it _is _moving!" Dad protested, "We are in a wizard's house, Petunia, everything about the place will be wrong. You know what those people are like. Strange and unnatural."

"Mum, Dad," I said, casting a glance at a picture of a daffodil that had arms and was, most certainly, waving, "I won't be staying here."

Dad gave a low, gruff laugh.

"And where might you be staying instead, my boy?"

I remembered Hestia's warning and hastily made up a lie.

"I'm going back to school. To board there. It'll be safe, and I can continue with my exams."

They looked at me, vacant looks in their eyes. Dad turned back to the picture and Mum casually scratched her neck.

"'Kay," she said, "See you soon, Muffin."

I blinked, having expected a huge fuss, possibly resulting in both my parents being drugged so I could get away. I turned to find Dedalus tucking his wand away.

"I put a spell on them, so they will calmly agree to everything anyone suggests. It'll wear off in half an hour, when I shall return to explain your absence with limited detail."

He smiled nervously and led me out of the house, to the pavement at the front where Hestia was waiting with my belongings. I took her hand, prepared for the worst. Travelling via 'painful disappearing' was slightly better when I was prepared for what would happen. When I opened my eyes, I was on the ground in front of a large, grand house in the countryside. A man with a tattoo of a unicorn on his face stood at the top of the porch steps, grinning down at me.

"Welcome," he said, "to the mad house."


	4. The Crystal Ball

**Chapter 4 **

I stared up at the man who was looming over me. Surprisingly enough, the unicorn tattoo that appeared to be galloping over his face was not his most absurd feature. His left ear was lined with piercings and his startlingly red hair stuck up in a tuft. He was wearing a bright yellow suit with a rainbow tie, both of which clashed with his hair. If the house was, as he had said, a mad house, then I supposed it was only appropriate that it housed a mad man.

"Professor Flip!" Dedalus squealed from somewhere behind me, and rushed forward to pump his arm enthusiastically up and down.

"Why, if it isn't Dedalus Diggle! How simply spiffing to see you old bean! My, it has been a long time. I haven't left this house in... oh, it must be about seventeen years!"

Dedalus nodded, beaming.

"Might I introduce, Dudley Dursley," he said, gesturing to where I was still lying in a heap on the ground.

"He's Harry Potter's cousin, you know," Dedalus stood on the tips of his toes to whisper none too quietly in Professor Flip's ear, "A muggle, too."

"My, my," said Professor Flip, once again grinning down at me," "To what do I owe this pleasure, meeting a blood relative of the world's most famous wizard without leaving the comfort of my own home?"

He reached out his hand to pull me to my feet. Dedalus coughed.

"As I said, Dudley is a muggle..."

"Ha! A muggle he may be, but no ordinary muggle if young Hestia's Patronus was anything to go by!"

He waved to Hestia, who was lingering a few yards behind me.

"Anyway, where are my manners? Come in, all of you, come in!"

He made a sweeping gesture and disappeared into the large, sprawling house. Dedalus indicated for me to follow him, with Hestia bringing up the rear, my suitcases once again orbiting around her head.

As I passed through the heavy, oak, front door, I did a double take as the brass, lion's head knocker winked at me. _Magic, _I thought to myself, _positively bonkers. _I moved into the hallway. It was a grand room dominated by a long, sweeping staircase. Numerous doors led off to the left and right and the walls were dotted with paintings. Not just ordinary paintings, but moving artwork, just like the daffodil back at Mum and Dad's safe house. I quickly pushed them out of my mind as I took in a pastel drawing of a windmill, its blades rotating in a slow, casual circle. Next to it, was a small cottage, with smoke pumping out of the chimney. I stared at the next picture unsure what it was, until a bull dog leapt at me, barking savagely. I jumped backwards in alarm, glad it was locked safely behind the gilt frame.

I turned my attention back to the trio of wizards standing next to the first door on the left, whispering in an urgent manner, Professor Flip stooping slightly to hear what petite Dedalus had to say. He was nodding and chewing his lip, the unicorn on his cheek prancing in an agitated circle.

"Dudley," he called to me. I moved towards the group, ignoring the little dog still snarling behind me.

"Come with me."

He led me through the door but Hestia and Dedalus stayed in the hall. I stopped to wait for them, but they ushered me to follow the insane looking wizard. I shrugged and did as I was told. We were in a cosy room that smelled strongly of incense. Heavy, velvet curtains were drawn over the windows, blocking out any traces of daylight. The room was lit only by candles that flickered from saucers perched on shelves and low coffee tables.

"Do take a seat, Dudley,"

Professor Flip sat in a high-backed armchair and I took the poufy opposite him. A dark wooden table sat in between us, a large, clear crystal ball held in an emerald clamp on top of it.

"Please place your hands on the crystal."

"Why?" I asked, "Are you going to tell me my fortune?"

My mum and dad had always told me that fortune tellers were frauds, trying to make money off the foolishness of others and that whatever they said was entirely untrue. I guessed that this did not apply here, in a world were pictures talked, monsters existed and anything was possible. I placed my hands hesitantly on either side of the crystal ball. A jolt of electricity ran up my arm.

"This will help me understand your gift, Dudley."

I nodded and the Professor clamped his hands on top of mine. They were hot and sweaty and I wondered why he didn't take his jacket off to cool down. I watched his face. His eyes looked into the distance and the unicorn became still. The ball turned cloudy and I started to panic.

_Why had I agreed to this? What was going to happen? I don't belong here. I want to go home! _

Before I knew it, the Professor had released my hands, and was looking at me, a faint smile etched across his face.

"Well, Dudley," he said, "_That _was interesting..."

Somewhere at the base of my throat, a pulse began to pound. My head spun and my mouth went dry, just as darkness enveloped me in its welcome embrace...


	5. My Living Nightmare

**Chapter 5 **

_I opened my eyes and breathed a sigh of relief. I was in my own bed, in my own bedroom, in my own house in Surrey. The light on my computer blinked from when I hadn't turned it off the night before, and yesterday's trousers lay in a heap on the floor, waiting for Mum to come in and put them in the washing basket. Everything was back to normal. _

"_Dudley," Mum rapped on my bedroom door, "Wake up!" _

"_I'm awake!" I called back. _

_The door swung open. I expected to see Mum's slight figure, her dark hair and pink dressing gown, as I usually did when I woke in the morning, but in her place stood a unicorn, silver and sparkling. _

"_Wake up, Dudley," it said. _

_I yelled and flung my leg out of the bed, but tripped and fell down a long, dark tunnel... _

"Nice of you to join us again, Dudley," Professor Flip said, perched on the edge of the elegant sofa I was lying on. I stared at him, taking in his yellow suit and the silver unicorn snoozing on his cheek. I looked around the rest of the room, at yet more moving paintings and a chandelier that hovered eight feet in the air without support. Dedalus was standing by one of the paintings, a portrait of a woman with flowing golden hair and an old fashioned dress. After a moment, I realised he was having a conversation with her and groaned. It hadn't all been a dream, after all. I was stuck in a world of magic, that was alien to me and I to it.

"What happened?" I asked Professor Flip, sitting up, embarrassed about having passed out, "What did the crystal ball say? What's wrong with me?"

Professor Flip leaned back and cocked his head to one side.

"Well," he said, "It was hard to see you in the crystal... I mean difficult to _see_ you, your destiny."

I had never really believed in destiny. Mum, as a fan of romantic films, had. She was always babbling on about finding your own true love and your purpose in life, among other rubbish.

"I'm not sure why," the Professor continued, "possibly because you are a muggle or maybe it is down to the fact that I had no idea what I was looking for. However, I did see that you are a very important young man, Dudley. Your ability, to see the _invisibilis monstrum _is a gift!"

He leaned forwards, so his breath tickled my face.

"You could be the key to winning the battle against the Dark Lord! You could save wizarding kind from corruption and destruction!"

I wasn't sure how to respond to this. I was glad that Professor Flip had been upfront about what he had seen in the crystal ball, unlike Hestia and Dedalus, who had stuttered and hesitated throughout telling me about the invisible monsters, but who was this Dark Lord and how was I supposed to save wizards? I don't have magical powers! I'm not special! I am an ordinary person, who was dragged into this by unfortunate relations to be safe from forces beyond my control, which I was then supposed to fight?

"How can I possibly be of any use to you in your fight against this 'Dark Lord'?"

Professor Flip shrugged and crossed his legs, causing his left trouser leg to ride up slightly, but enough to expose the fuzzy, orange socks he was wearing. Despite my bizarre and frightening situation, I couldn't help but wonder where he bought such odd attire.

"Well, I still don't know why you can see the _invisibilis monstrum_. I need to engage in further study of that type of dark magic and carry out some experiments, but you will come in very useful, although I have no idea how, but you simply _must_ stay here until I have a better understanding of this."

"What if I don't want to stay here? What if I want to go back to my parents? You can't keep me here against my will you know, that would be kidnap and you would go to jail."

Professor Flip barked out a laugh and clapped his hands.

"That's the spirit! I think we will get along just fine!"

I glared at him, starting to get angry.

"I'm not joking," I told him, "I don't want to stay here. I don't belong here and I want to go home!"

Before Professor Flip could reply, Dedalus appeared beside me, having finished talking to the women in the painting.

"Oh, Dudley," he gushed, "I understand if you don't want to stay here, but you have to-"

"I don't have to do anything."

"Oh yes, you do," said the Professor, smiling in a creepy way, "If you leave you will be removed from our protection and vulnerable to attack."

"I'll take my chances," I said standing up, "Anything would be better than staying with you crazy people!"

"But your parents!" Dedalus interjected, "They wouldn't be safe! If you walk out, they'll have to go with you!"

Dedalus hung his head, looking sheepish. I looked from him to Professor Flip and back again.

"Are you... are you two blackmailing me?"

"Of course not-"

"Yes," said the Professor, "we are."

I thought of my parents back at the safe house, probably going out of their minds because their only child had gone missing in a world full of what they hated most. I thought of them being killed by monsters or murdered by evil wizards. Professor Flip wouldn't really throw them out if I walked out, would he? I could tell from the devious expression painted on his face that he would do anything to get what he wanted. I couldn't let Mum and Dad get hurt.

"Fine," I said, crossing my arms, "I'll stay, on one condition- my parents have to be kept safe and happy."

Dedalus patted my arm.

"Of course. Hestia is already with them, and I'll go now and help explain your absence."

He smiled quickly, and left in a flurry of robes, muttering that he would let himself out. Professor Flip smiled.

"Let me show you to your room."

After collecting my bags, he led me upstairs to the third door on the right, talking about how other people he had kidnapped were out on some sort of errand and would be back soon. I was glad I wouldn't be left completely alone with him, and hoped they would be relatively normal.

"I'll let you get settled in before the others return," he told me, "and then you can meet them. It'll be so exiting!"

He smiled at me, before disappearing back downstairs. I shouldered the door open and was horrified to see that the room I was staying in was already occupied. There were two beds, one against each wall. One had no sheets, but was covered with empty snack wrappers and dog-eared magazines. Dirty washing was strewn across the floor, and the other bed was unmade, the blankets scrunched up at one end. Posters of pop groups I had never heard of plastered the walls, and the carpet had lumps of chewing gum stuck in it.

"Oh no," I said to myself, "I have the roommate from hell."

"I'm not from hell," said a voice from behind me, "I'm from Cheshire."


	6. Cruel Kindness

**Chapter 6 **

I spun round and found myself at eye level with someone's collar bone. I looked up at a very tall, very thin boy who looked about my age. He had a mop of blond, shaggy hair that fell into his eyes and the corners of his mouth were pulled upwards into an amused smile.

"Sorry 'bout the mess, mate," he said, "I don't see the point in tidying up. Better things to do in life, you know?"

"Well, you won't have a very long life, if you live like this. This room must be infested with bacteria."

The boy shrugged.

"I'm Hedgely," he told me, holding out his hand, "Hedgely Hodgekins."

"Dudley Dursley," I replied, shaking his hand hesitantly, unsure of when he had last washed it.

"So," said Hedgely, scuffing at a piece of hardened chewing gum with the tip of his shoe, "Flip said you would be staying here for a while."

"Yeah," I said, "Just for a while. Then I'll be going home."

He nodded and strolled over to his bed, flopping down on it with his shoes still on.

"I'll live here until the war is over and I can get a job and a place of my own. What are you here for?"

"I... well-"I faltered, unsure of how to explain why I was here in a world that did not belong to me, "I can see the _invisibilis monstrum._"

Hedgely blinked.

"Why wouldn't you be able to see them?"

"I- I'm a muggle." I didn't like referring to myself using this word that wasn't found in the dictionary nor that I had never heard of before today.

Hedgely rolled over to face me. "Wow, man, that's like, totally cool. I've never met a muggle before!"

"Really?" I asked, surprised. I had thought that wizards lived among normal people, as Harry had done.

Hedgely shook his head. "Like I said, when I was very young, I lived in Cheshire. I think I had muggle neighbours, but I didn't interact with them, and I never attended muggle school. I came here when I was five, and haven't left for more than a few hours at a time since."

"Don't you go to school?"

"My mother taught me how to read and write, and I've learned the rest from spells and potions from Professor Flip."

I nodded, guessing that wizards didn't learn ordinary things, like maths and geography.

"Where are your parents now, then?" I asked, hoping he would say they had been at a safe house that was, in fact, safe.

"Dad was killed by Death Eaters. Mum poisoned herself shortly afterwards. I was sent to live with Professor Flip, a close family friend."

"Oh," I mumbled, my face growing red, "I'm so sorry, I didn't mean-"

He waved away my apologies, seemingly unconcerned that I had asked about his deceased relatives.

"Never mind about my boring life! What about you? How did you end up here? I didn't think Muggles even _knew _about magic!"

"Well, my cousin, Harry, is a wizard. He was... orphaned," I chose my words carefully, understanding that Harry and Hedgely had this in common, but the other boy just nodded, encouraging me to talk on,

"He's important here, the Chosen One or something like that-"

Hedgley's jaw dropped, and he rolled off his bed, flicking his hair out of his eyes.

"Your cousin... is Harry Potter?"

"Why, yes," I said, startled that he knew Harry without me mentioning his full name, "Do you know him?"

Hedgely laughed and clapped his long, slender hands together with glee.

"Oh course I know _Harry Potter_!" he exclaimed, "He's only the most famous, most important, most talked about wizard that has ever lived! Without him, we would all be dead! No wonder you're here then, if you're related to him!"

I was shocked that Harry was so highly thought of. He was small, wimpy and, if you ask me, rather full of himself. I had known when we were sent into hiding for being associated with him, that he was somebody but not to this degree of fame.

"Well, my parents and I were sent to a safe house, to protect us from...?"

"Death Eaters," said Hedgely, "Followers of the Dark Lord, the most evil sorcerer in existence. Understandable that Harry Potter's family were put under protection; you would probably have been in their direct firing line. Carry on."

"Before we got to the safe house, I saw an invisible monster... so Dedalus and Hestia brought me here, to the so-called expert."

Hedgely nodded intently.

"I take it the Professor didn't have any answers for you?"

"No, that's why I'm staying here. To be experimented on, like a lab rat."

I had expected sympathy from a fellow inmate in Professor Flip's personal prison, but Hedgely didn't offer a word of comfort. Instead, he said,

"Professor Flip's not a bad guy, and this house is great and as safe a place as any! I'm sure we'll have a great time, roomie!"

He grinned at my expression, horrified at the thought of staying in such a filthy room with a guy who talked about my cousin as if he were a celebrity.

"Don't worry, I'll clean up!" Hedgely assured me, "So are your parents staying here too?"

I shook my head, the fact that I was without them for the first time, finally hitting home. How would I manage without Mum to look after me? I would end up as untidy as Hedgely. How was I going to survive without Dad to help me with my school work? I would end up being educated in magic, instead of English, maths and science, the things that mattered in real life.

"They're still at the safe house; I don't know when I'll see them again."

"Oh," said Hedgely, "would you like to talk to them?"

"How can I? Wizards don't use phones, do they?"

"What's a phone?"

"It has numbers on it, and everyone has their own number so you can-"

Hedgely held up a hand to silence me.

"That sounds ridiculously complicated. Come on, I'll show you how to talk to your parents in the simplest way possible."

He stood up and ambled out of the room. I followed him back downstairs and into a room with a large fireplace, that was piled high with coal but was unlit. An ornate vase decorated with an intricate swirl design sat on the mantelpiece above. Hedgely knelt down and pulled a wand out of his sweatshirt. He muttered something indecipherable and tapped the coal with the end of his wand. The flames leapt to life, jumping and hissing like a cat that had been trod on.

"What are you lighting a fire for? How does that help me talk to my parents?"

Hedgely dipped his hand into the vase and drew out a handful of powder.

"Here," he pressed it into my hand and pushed me towards the fireplace.

"Throw this into the fire, think about where you want to go and stick your head into the flames!"

"What?" I yelped, "Are you crazy?"

"No. Just do it."

"No way!"

"Don't you want to talk to your parents?"

"Of course I do, but I don't want to die in the process!"

"You won't!"

"Yes, I will!"

"Quick, look at that!"

"What!"

"Ahhh!"

While I turned to look at whatever he was pointing at, he grabbed me in a headlock, threw the powder into the fire and forced my head into the flames. I squeezed my eyes shut, and opened my mouth to scream before I realized that I was not getting burned.

"Diddy?"

I opened one eye to find Mum and Dad bending over me.

"Dudley?" Dad gasped, "W-what are you doing in the fire?"

"Dad- Mum- I'm alright, I-"

"Dudley!" Mum screeched, "Call an ambulance! Quick! Do something! Help!"

Before either Dad or I could say anything, she collapsed to the floor, unconscious.

"Petunia! Dudley!"

Dad looked between us, unsure of who to go to first.

"Dad," I said, "I'm okay. Don't worry about me. Everything is going to be fine. Help Mum."

"Dudley, what-"

"I can't talk for long, but I'm fine. Take care of Mum and tell her not to worry about me? Okay? Okay?"

Dad gave an exasperated nod.

"Good. I-I love you both."

Without waiting for a reply, I pulled my head back out of the fireplace and rolled backwards. I wasn't burned or hurt in anyway. I let out a sigh of relief.

"You okay?"

Hedgely was standing over me, looking concerned.

"Yes," I replied, "Everything is okay."

Hedgely smiled.

"Good. I'm sorry- for shoving your face into a fire."

After a moment, I smiled back.

"Don't be sorry, Hedgely," I told him, "Thank you, for shoving my face into a fire. That is the nicest thing anyone has ever done for me."


	7. Great Expectations

**Chapter 7 **

"So," said Hedgely, after helping me up from the floor, "do you feel better now that you've spoken to your parents?"

I nodded. Despite Mum's collapsing at the sight of my face among a pit of burning coals, I knew that she and Dad were alright and they knew I was safe.

"Can I contact them again soon?"

"Maybe not by the floo network, it could be dangerous, with Death Eaters roaming free and all that, but you could send them an owl."

I remembered when our house in Privet Drive had been covered with owls, trying to deliver letters to Harry, when we were eleven. Dad had hated birds ever since, but I supposed he would have to learn to live with lots of things that he hated now.

"Dudley?"

Professor Flip stuck his head through the door.

"There you are! I've been looking all over for you! Ahh, I see you've met Hedgely. I'm sure you'll be the best of friends!"

He grinned the same insane smile he had used when I'd first arrived here.

"Hedgely, why don't you take Dudley to the kitchen to get something to eat? I will be in the dining room, so come and eat with me and we can discuss what we are going to do about this... unusual situation."

He pulled his head back through the door and shut it with a bang that made me jump.

"Do any other people live here?" I asked Hedgely.

"Most of the time, it's just me and Professor Flip. People who work for the Order of the Phoenix come to stay all the time, though, to help the Professor with his work."

"What is the Order of the Phoenix?"

"It is an organisation that was set up to fight against the dark forces, but these days it fights the Ministry of Magic as well, because it is so corrupt and riddled with evil."

I followed Hedgely through a maze of corridors to the kitchen, whilst pondering how Muggles could remain so blind to the magical problems going on all around them, before remembering that I had been like that just yesterday.

"Here we are!"

I found myself standing next to Hedgely in the strangest kitchen I had ever seen. There was no cooker, no cupboards or sink. There was just what I took to be a fridge-freezer in one corner. The wall paper was loud and garish, clashing horribly with the white tiled floor. I could see Professor Flip's taste reflected in the kitchen's decor.

"How are we supposed to cook food in here?" I queried.

"Simple," replied Hedgely. He strode across the room to the fridge-freezer, covering the distance with just two of his long strides. He opened the fridge door and pulled out a meagre ham sandwich and an apple.

"Your turn," he said, "Hot food is in the bottom, cold food is in the top."

I didn't bother asking how hot food came out of the freezer section or how he'd got a sandwich, plate and all, already made from the fridge. The entire refrigerator must have been enchanted in some way. I moved towards the bottom section, fantasising about a burger and some chips. I yanked the door open... and was disappointed to see nothing. It was empty.

"Hey! Nothing happened!"

"You have to think about what you want from it," said Hedgely, "You have to really want it, to taste it before you've actually eaten it. Try again."

I shrugged and closed the door again. I imagined a burger in my mind, grilled inside a white bread roll, crammed with lettuce, cheese, bacon and mayonnaise accompanied by a bowl of golden chips, sprinkled with salt and drenched in vinegar. I tasted the flavours on my tongue and smelt the aroma of the food. I opened the door again... and there it was. Exactly how I had imagined it, cooked to perfection. I lifted the plate the burger was on with one hand, the bowl of chips with the other and nudged the 'freezer' closed with my knee.

"Wow that was _amazing_!"

Hedgely smiled wryly.

"I'm not even going to ask how you Muggles get your food. You have to overcomplicate everything!"

I returned his smile, thinking about how Mum had to buy all the ingredients, prepare and cook them before we could eat anything. It was far easier to just think about what you wanted and for it to magically appear, but would she see it like that, or would she think it was as unnatural as the moving pictures?

The kitchen adjoined the dining room, connected by a door that had photographs pinned all over it. I looked closely at a photo of Professor Flip when he was younger, before he got his unicorn tattoo and multiple ear piercings. I was surprised how normal he looked; the only odd thing about his face was his eyebrows that were moving up and down. It appeared that in this world, photographs, like paintings, could move.

The dining room had an appropriate air of elegance that fitted in with the rest of the house. The table was long, and made of polished mahogany. The chairs that lined either side of it were made of the same wood, but were cushioned with red upholstery. Professor Flip sat at the head of the empty table, and waved us to sit down.

"Good to see you!" he said as Hedgely and I took seats on either side of him, despite that he had seen us less than ten minutes ago, "do tuck in!"

I felt slightly bashful about my burger and chips, as Hedgely nibbled his sandwich and Professor Flip speared his salad with a fork. My meal was considerably larger and more fattening than either of theirs, so I told myself to only eat half of it so that I wouldn't look greedy.

"So," said Hedgely, after we had all swallowed our last mouthful and were washing it down with fizzing, golden liquid from a jug sitting in the middle of the table, "what did you have in mind to do now, Professor?"

Professor Flip pulled a pink and blue polka-dot handkerchief out of the sleeve of his custard coloured suit, and loudly blew his noise with it. I had to put my hand over my mouth and fake a coughing fit in an attempt to disguise my laughter.

"Well, I think I need to see Dudley in action, before I can assess how powerful he is and how he will be of use to us."

"What do you mean by that?" I asked him, feeling uneasy.

"I want you to go outside the boundaries of my house and kill one of the _invisibilis monstrum_!"

"What?" I gasped, "How am I supposed to do that? I don't have magic! I'll get killed!"

The Professor laughed.

"You'll be just fine. Hedgely will be with you. He does that sort of thing every day!"

I leaned around the Professor to look at my roommate.

"_You _go out and kill monsters?"

Hedgely looked sheepish.

"I do have some use in the war effort, you know," he told me, "I've killed more of them than any other wizard. You won't die on my watch."

I found it difficult to imagine laid-back, easy going Hedgely killing monsters, but if nothing else, I was starting to learn to expect the unexpected.

"What if we got separated before you killed it? What would happen then? How would I defend myself?"

"That's quite simple, dear boy," said Professor Flip, "We will teach you how to fight! We will get you into shape, and before long, you'll be Dudley the Muggle monster slayer!"


	8. A Horrifying Encounter

**Chapter 8 **

Before going to bed that night, Hedgely stayed true to his word and tidied the room we were to share. I was mightily surprised when he retrieved a vacuum cleaner from a small cupboard filled with cleaning supplies, as I had grown used to the idea that wizards did everything with magic. I was proved correct when Hedgely sank onto his mattress, using his wand to direct the vacuum over the carpet, sweet wrappers to hop to the bin and clothes to fold themselves neatly into drawers.

"Wow!" I enthused once he had finished, "That was amazing!"

Hedgely smiled and set his wand down on his bedside cabinet.

"Thank you. I'm very gifted. The clean sheets for your bed will be at the bottom of the wardrobe."

Hedgely threw open the wardrobe's doors, causing an avalanche of his belongings to pour out onto the freshly vacuumed floor. He sighed, and began hunting through the pile, occasionally throwing random objects at me. I ended up holding a squeaky, rubber ball, a sketchbook and a framed photograph of a man and woman, both of them tall and blond. I assumed they must be Hedgely's parents and decided not to ask further questions, before remembering his unfazed demeanour when I had inquired about them earlier.

"Hedgely, why don't you put a spell or something on this photo to make it move?" I asked, thinking about the picture of Professor Flip I had seen in the kitchen, as he pulled the crumpled bed sheets from the bottom of the wardrobe. He scooped up armfuls of his possessions and piled them back into the cupboard, hastily closing the doors and leaning against them so it couldn't all burst back out. When it was clear there would not be an explosion, Hedgely looked at the photo of his mother and father and shrugged.

"Dipping it in potion to make it move makes photos come to life," he said, "but both of my parents are dead. They'll never move or smile or wave ever again, and I don't want to pretend otherwise."

With that emotional answer hanging in the air, he took the photo, ball and sketchbook from me and stashed them beside his bed.

I couldn't sleep for ages that night. Maybe it was sleeping in a strange room with a strange roommate in a strange bed, or it was the thoughts whirring through my mind. It was hard to believe that just yesterday; I had been at home living a normal life, free from the bizarre happenings that must have plagued Harry's life for the past ten years. I was racked by guilt for bullying him and adding to the misery he already faced without my input. I worried about Mum and Dad, stuck in a world with which they weren't familiar, without me. I feared for my own safety, living with Professor Flip who expected me to go out and fight monsters I shouldn't be able to see, aided only by a boy who was thin as a rake but deep as an ocean.

After breakfast the next morning, Professor Flip led Hedgely and I to the top of the house, to what he called 'the training room', which turned out to be a large, empty room with one wall panelled with mirrors. It reminded me of a ballet studio, but after a bad night's sleep and a meagre breakfast that had consisted of muesli and fresh berries that were a factor in my new healthy diet, I was not in the mood to dance.

Professor Flip, who had exchanged his yellow jacket, shirt and trousers, for a raspberry suit in the same style, brandished his wand.

"Why don't you start off with a simple jog around the room?"

I was so surprised at being asked to do such a normal, boring exercise, that I stood and gawped at the Professor until Hedgely took hold of my arm and dragged me along. I couldn't keep up with his long-legged pace, and was soon out of breath.

"Hedgely," I gasped, "Let go of me, I can't keep going."

Hedgely smiled smugly, keeping a firm hold of my elbow.

"Sorry," he said, not even breaking a sweat, "You'll have to keep up if you want to live."

"But nothing's chasing me now!"

I pulled my arm free of Hedgely's spidery fingers and slowed to barely more than a walk, allowing him to run at his own ridiculous pace, even if it meant he out lapped me again and again and again.

After my third time, and Hedgely's twenty third time, around the room, I was alarmed when he called out and threw himself on the floor. I craned my neck to look over my shoulder to see what was wrong. Professor Flip was standing, smiling, where we had left him at the start of the exercise. He pointed above my head. I looked up. And screamed.

An invisible monster was soaring several feet above me, pounding its great, feathery wings. I ran harder, despite the protests of my burning limbs and dry throat. When I reached Hedgely, who was curled up into a foetal, position, I dived down and shook him.

"Get up!" I shouted, "You have to kill it! Quickly!"

Hedgely remained unresponsive and I wondered if the shock of seeing a monster inside a supposedly safe house had killed him. I tried to run again, but the monster was too close behind me. I fell back to the floor and threw my arms over my head, preparing for the burning scratch of talons in my back and the teeth that would clamp around my neck. But it never came. It took me several minutes to process that I was safe. I rolled over onto my back to find Hedgely and Professor Flip standing on either side of me.

"What happened?" I asked Hedgely who, in his sports vest and oversized shorts, looked more like an American basketball player than an English magical monster murderer, "Why didn't you kill it? Where did it go?"

"It wasn't real, Dudley," said Professor Flip, even though the question hadn't been addressed to him, "I conjured up an illusion of an _invisibilis monstrum_, to see how you would react. Obviously, in a real situation, Hedgely would have tried to kill it, but I asked him to pretend he didn't have magic, for the purpose of this training session. If you had followed his lead, and curled up on the floor, it is highly likely that the monster would have ignored you. My research shows that _invisibilis monstrum _have poor eye sight, and rely on their hearing to stalk their pray."

I stared at him. What kind of twisted person makes an image of a monster to chase someone else around a room?

"Why didn't you _tell _me that before I started to panic like an idiot?"

"Like I said, I wanted to see your reaction, so I can judge how much work you'll need to do before you're ready to go out and fight properly."

"So what did your judgement tell you?"

Professor Flip sighed.

"We're going to be here for a while."


	9. Beyond Safe Boundaries

**Chapter 9 **

The next few weeks consisted of healthy meals, extreme exercise and a vigorous training routine. After Professor Flip was content that I could hide from the invisible monsters, he went on to teaching me to fight them, not with magic, but with a dagger.

"This once belonged to my father," he told me when he handed me the twisted metal blade, "You should use it in an emergency, if Hedgely was injured or you got separated."

Over the course of these weeks, I noticed that I was getting fitter. Stronger. Faster. When running laps around the training room, I could now keep up with Hedgely for a good ten minutes before I had to stop and rest. I could sink my dagger into the chest of illusions that Professor Flip conjured up. The muscles in my stomach became taut and my legs became more toned. I had also sent two letters to my parents, to which Mum had replied with twenty of her own. An owl came in almost every day, carrying a scroll filled with her looped handwriting, asking me if I was all right, if I needed anything and to inform me that it is in my own best interest to floss my teeth before going to bed at night.

It was after a particularly draining session of taking down pretend invisible monsters, that Professor Flip said that I was finally ready to go out and fight for real. Hedgely and I rose early the next morning, and I dressed in traditional wizarding robes, making sure that my dagger was tied securely around my waist, before going downstairs to have breakfast with Professor Flip.

"So, Dudley, do you feel ready for this?" Professor Flip asked me after I'd sat down at the table with my bowl of muesli.

"Uhuh," I mumbled through a mouthful of cereal.

"That's good, I'm sure everything will go perfectly. I can't wait to hear all about it!"

I gulped.

"What do you mean?" I asked, "Aren't you coming with us?"

"Dear goodness, no! I haven't left this house in over seventeen years, and I'm not planning on leaving it now!"

"Why not?"

Professor Flip licked his dry lips.

"You'll be fine without me. Your training will help you and it will all be fine," he said, avoiding my question.

We didn't talk while we finished our breakfast, the silence broken only by the sound of chewing and the clink of cutlery. Professor Flip gave us his best wishes and waved us off, as Hedgely led me outside the boundaries of the house. I couldn't help but think badly of Professor Flip, forcing me to go out and risk my life for his experiments while he sat at home with his feet up. I was still fuming when Hedgely took hold of my wrist and we Disapparated. He had explained to me that it became bearable after your body had adjusted to disappearing. I remembered how awful I felt when Dedalus and Hestia transported my family to the safe house, and was glad that the experience was considerably better this time around, although I still ended up landing on the ground.

I clambered to my feet and found myself standing on a grassy hilltop in the middle of nowhere. I checked my dagger was still at my waist, taking comfort from its familiar weight.

"Where are we?" I asked Hedgely, who was picking blades of grass out of his mop of blond hair. I was glad to see that his balance wasn't great after Disapparating either and felt less self conscious about falling over.

"I'm not sure," he said, "Up north somewhere. Yorkshire, maybe."

I glared at him.

"What? Don't you know where we are? How are we supposed to find monsters if we don't know where we are?"

"Relax, mate," Hedgely said, waving his hands in what he must have thought was a calming gesture, "I've been to this spot before. It's a total hotspot for the _invisibilis monstrum. _I think they travel over here a lot, I've had..." he counted on his fingers, "at least three kills here."

"Oh, that's very reassuring!" I snapped, "Do you have some sort of plan for killing them? A structure as to how it's done?"

Hedgely shrugged.

"Not really. Usually, I lie on the hill, and if I lie still I'll see it before it sees me. Then, when it flies by, I kill it."

As if to prove his point, Hedgely flopped onto the ground and put his arms behind his head to use as a cushion. I stood there, utterly flabbergasted by his thoughtless attitude towards a creature that could easily kill him. It took me several minutes to calm down enough to sit in the grass next to him. I didn't lie down, as I detested insects and did not want them to crawl on me. Keeping one hand on my dagger, I sat still and watched the vast, blue expanse of the sky.

It might have been hours or minutes, or even seconds later, when Hedgely sat up, suddenly alert.

"Do you hear that?"

Panicked, I strained my ears but could only hear the thud of my own heart. I shook my head.

"Stay here," he instructed me, and leapt to his feet. I watched him run over the brow of the hill and disappear from my line of sight. I scrambled to a standing position and hurried after him, drawing my dagger, not wanting to be left alone with a monster potentially nearby.

On the other side of the hill, I gasped at the sight of my roommate waving his wand at the huge monster soaring above his head. They circled each other, both of them snarling. Hedgely's long frame looked so small beside that of the monster that it was almost comical.

_Oh no oh no oh no! _

What would I do if Hedgely was killed? Or...or...

My train of thought was broken by the sound of wings beating the air somewhere behind me. I turned slowly and trembled as a second monster dived towards me, gnashing its gruesome yellow teeth, its beady red eyes narrowed.

Blood pounded in my ears, my heart raced and my mouth felt dry.

I whipped my dagger upwards, arcing towards its heart.

But I wasn't quick enough.

Claws raked my chest, ripping my shirt and my skin.

I screamed and drove my dagger home.

I didn't see what became of the monster before I collapsed to the ground, gasping; my chest on fire. I pressed my hand to my chest in an attempt to stem the blood flowing from my gaping wound. It seeped through my fingers, an unstoppable force.

"Dudley! Dudley!"

Hedgely's voice seemed miles away and his face swam in front of me, as I closed my eyes and gave myself up to the oncoming darkness.


	10. A Monster's Perspective

**Chapter 10 **

_I looked down at the world far below me. Fields of different shades of green knitted together to form the world's biggest patchwork quilt, the green interrupted by clusters of doll houses and toy cars flying up and down the distant roads. I could see it all. Everything. _

I briefly returned to consciousness, long enough to see Hedgely and Professor Flip's concerned expressions looming over me and to feel the burning fire still raging in my chest, before I allowed myself to pass out once again.

_I was swooping low over a field, the grass brushing the skin on my stomach. A delicious smell wafted towards me, the smell of blood rushing through veins, of salt on skin, of air being pumped in and out of lungs. It was the smell of life, and I longed to devour it. I rose upwards, out of the grass, and saw a girl, sitting beneath a tree, reading a book. She was young. I knew her meat would be fresh and tender, as I silently descended upon her. She didn't see or hear me coming, nor did she have time to scream as I clamped my jaws around her neck. _

"NOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOO!"

I blinked, flying upright in my bed, trying to see who had shouted before realising it had been me.

Had I just fantasised about _eating_ someone?

No. It had been a nightmare. That was all. It was-.

I looked down to find my chest wrapped in pristine white bandages and remembered my injury. It had been some sort of feverish nightmare, triggered by such a traumatic experience. It had to be.

I felt hot, so much so that my hair was sticking to my neck. I couldn't breathe.

_What is wrong with me? _

"Dudley! You're awake!"

Hedgely was perched on his own bed on the other side of the room, a book open on his lap. I thought of the girl sitting beneath the tree, the poor, poor girl...

I rolled over to the edge of my bed and threw up on the carpet.

"Professor!" Hedgely shouted, closing the book and standing up, "Professor, come here, quickly!"

Professor Flip appeared in the doorway, while I was still retching on the clean carpet and gasping for air. He exchanged a few, clipped words with Hedgely before shooing the other boy from the room. He waiting until he was sure I had quite finished, before waving his wand, causing my vomit and its rancid smell to disappear. I leaned back against my pillows.

"How are you feeling?" asked Professor Flip, pulling a stool out of thin air and sitting on it, "Does your chest hurt?"

I shifted slightly and moved back and forth, testing my chest for pain, but felt nothing. I shook my head.

"Not at all. Not anymore. But my head hurts."

"Hedgely said you woke up shouting something, before you vomited."

I nodded but didn't say anything.

"Would you like to elaborate?" asked the Professor, "Do you know why you yelled?"

"I-I..." the thought of the field and the girl made me feel queasy and my head began to pound, "I had a nightmare."

"Go on."

"I had a nightmare- and in the nightmare," I swallowed, my throat dry, "I was an invisible monster."

I expected Professor Flip to get up and storm off or accuse me of being a monster myself, or at the very least, gasp, but he just sat there, nodding. I noticed that his eyes were bloodshot and he was unshaven. The unicorn on his face was grazing on the red stubble that lined his chin. He looked as if he hadn't slept in days.

"How long was I unconscious?" I asked.

"Thirty-six hours, give or take."

I hadn't realised I had been sleeping for that length of time. Professor Flip must have been awake most of the time, making sure I didn't die after his promises that I would be safe.

"How badly was I injured?"

Professor Flip sighed and leaned back, before remembering he was sitting on a stool and leaned forward again.

"Dudley," he said solemnly, "A muggle would have died from a wound like that."

"So I'm definitely not a muggle, then? Do you know what I am?"

"I _think _I know what you are."

"What do you _think _I am?"

"A squib."

"A squid?" I snorted, despite the serious circumstance, "Why on earth would you think I'm a squid? I don't have one eye and loads of tentacles."

"A _squib_ is someone born into a wizarding family but doesn't have powers themselves."

"I wasn't born into a wizarding family. My parents are muggles. You know that."

"But you are Harry Potter's cousin; you are as special as he is. You were born to muggle parents. You are not a muggle-born wizard, yet you can see the _invisibilis monstrum _and you could operate my kitchen and you survived an injury that would have destroyed most people. You possess the abilities of a squib. That is the best answer I can come up with."

I considered this; it seemed plausible.

"What about the nightmare?" I asked.

"What exactly happened?"

It took me over an hour to recount the horrific tale, stuttering and stumbling over words. Once I had finished, Professor Flip sat scratching his neck, mulling it all over. Eventually he said,

"Well, Dudley, no real idea. I can only guess that you now have some sort of connection with the _invisibilis monstrum _you encountered, like Harry does with the Dark Lord. It all sounds very similar."

I panicked at the thought of being tied to the horrible creature and what that meant.

"You-you mean, the nightmare... was real?"

"I'm afraid so, although I may be wrong."

I felt nauseous, but commanded control over my stomach and Professor Flip continued,

"When you first walked into my home and I tried to read your fortune, I thought you were special. Now I know you are."


	11. Another Piece of the Puzzle

**Chapter 11**

I spent the next day in bed, trying not to fall asleep and failing. After I woke up, I stayed awake throughout the entire night, even when Hedgely turned off the light and snored for twelve hours. The next morning I kept yawning and when my eyes grew heavy I closed them, just for a second, but that was all it took.

_My stomach felt pleasantly full as I flew across the water towards the craggy island of rocks. When I reached it, I snapped at another beast that was in my favourite resting place. It was smaller than me and meekly hopped off, its head bowed. I folded my wings and curled my feet up beneath me, watching the shoreline and chalk cliffs in the distance... _

I woke with a start, breathing heavily. It hadn't been as bad as the previous nightmare, but it was far from happy thoughts. Hedgely's bed lay empty, the blankets rumpled and unmade. I assumed it was still a decent hour, and swung my feet out of bed. I stood up gingerly, not wanting to hurt my bandaged chest but I was pleasantly surprised to feel nothing. I exchanged my pyjama bottoms, that I worryingly didn't remember putting on, for a pair of jeans and I shrugged a shirt over my shoulders, although I left the buttons undone.

After padding the corridors of the enormous house I did not yet know my way around, I eventually heard the voices of Professor Flip and Hedgely floating out of a small sitting room. I stopped in my tracks when I heard Hedgely's low voice say,

"I don't want to take Dudley out again. It would be too dangerous for him, when his only defence is a knife."

This was followed by a slurping sound and the clink of china.

"I quite agree with you, we cannot have that boy die in such a trivial fashion when he is of great importance. I don't even want to send _you _out again."

"Why not?" Hedgely's voice rose, "Do you think that because Dudley was hurt, I have lost my ability to fight the _invisibilis monstrum_?"

This was followed by further slurping.

"No, no. I have the utmost faith in you, Hedgely; it is the monsters I do not trust. You see, before this incident you have only encountered one monster at a time and despatched it without much trouble. But this time two of them worked together, one distracted you while the other attempted to kill Dudley. I think they must be evolving, becoming clever enough to develop strategy in their attacks. I fear you picking them off one by one isn't making any difference. We must destroy them in large numbers and put an end to the species once and for all!"

"How are we going to do that?"

"I have no idea."

Without thinking, I stepped out from where I had been standing in the hallway.

"I know what you can do," I blurted out, taking in their shocked faces. I assumed they hadn't expected me to recover so quickly. I noticed two teacups sitting on a coffee table in front of them, Hedgely's was still full of tea but Professor Flip's contained only dregs. I assumed this had been the cause of the slurping.

"Dudley!" Hedgely exclaimed, "I thought you were sleeping-"

"What do you think we should do?" interrupted the Professor.

"I think there is a nest of the monsters, where they all live."

"_A nest of _invisibilis monstrum_?" _Hedgely's eyes were as round as the saucer his tea cup sat upon.

"Yes, I think so, I saw it when..." I trailed off, not knowing how to explain when I saw it, but both wizards seemed to believe me.

"Do you know where this 'nest' is?" inquired the Professor.

"It's on a little island, near the white cliffs of Dover."

He smiled faintly.

"Then what are we waiting for? Let's take a trip to the seaside!"

I could smell the salt of the ocean as soon as we had Disapparated. I clambered to my feet to find myself on top of the cliffs, looking down at the calm blue water, waves rippling as far as the eye could see. The sea looked calm and peaceful, until my eye found what we had come to see. A dark, jagged rock sat several miles out from the land and although I was not close enough to see them, I could tell this is where the invisible monsters resided when they were not out eating people.

Professor Flip let out a long, low whistle.

"Looks like you were right," he said to me, "Let's go and pay the _invisibilis monstrum _a visit!"

If I had not known better, I would have thought he was excited about seeing them as I watched Hedgely mount the magical flying broomstick that was required to reach the island, as we couldn't Disparate there when the exact location was unknown.

I perched on the broomstick behind Hedgely, trying to find a comfortable way to sit, as Professor Flip jumped on his own broom and zoomed off.

"Are you ready?" Hedgely asked me. Fear was clearly etched on his normally calm face, which both worried and reassured me that he looked the same way I felt.

My stomach flipped and my eyes snapped shut as the broom shot forward like a bullet. I awkwardly threw my arms around Hedgely to avoid falling off. I couldn't see how close we were to our destination, but judging by the speed we were travelling at, it would not take too long.

When I opened my eyes, we were hovering beside Professor Flip, just above the nest. I looked down at the writhing mass of black, winged bodies, as the monsters fought each other for space on their crowded rock. I couldn't help but gasp at their sheer numbers. There was far more in reality than I had seen in my nightmares. I shuddered and forced myself to look away.

"They can't see us way up here, can they?" I asked Professor Flip, he was looking down in what I could only call admiration.

"I wouldn't have thought so but-"

The Professor's words were lost by a screech. Hedgely wheeled the broom around, and we both saw a monster flying towards us, pounding its great wings, a look of malice in its red eyes.

My scream was muffled as Hedgely pulled the broom upwards and I crashed into him as we started to gain height. I risked a look back over my shoulder at Professor Flip, who was floating in the same place, staring at the oncoming monster in awe.

"Professor!" I shouted, "Run! Or fly! Get out of the way!"

At my shout, Hedgely turned round, just as the monster reached Professor Flip, clawing his jacket with its talons. The material fell away revealing his brightly checked short-sleeved shirt. On one arm, I could see a spiralling black tattoo, but before I could call out another warning I felt the familiar discomfort of Disapparation.

I found myself back outside Professor Flip's house, Hedgely sprawled on the ground beside me.

"Hedgely! What are you doing? We have to help the Professor!"

I reached down to help him up, but he didn't take my hand. I noticed that he was shaking and there were tear tracks running down his face.

"Dudley," he said, his voice thick with emotion, "That tattoo on Professor Flip's arm was the mark of the Death Eaters. He is in league with the Dark Lord!"


	12. A New Found Discovery

**Chapter 12**

I knelt down in the dewy grass beside Hedgely, who had thrown his arm over his face in an attempt to muffle his sobs. I did not know what to say to him after he had been betrayed by a man he had lived with since he was a small child, who had taught him everything he knew and was the closest he had to a father figure.

My mind was reeling. I had only known Professor Flip for a few days but I was shocked by this revelation that he had been working for, who knows how long, with an evil wizard he was pretending to fight. It now made sense to me why Professor Flip had always worn long sleeves, even when he was boiling hot, but why had he been so insistent that I was important to saving the wizarding world? If I was a tool to help defeat the Dark Lord, then why hadn't Professor Flip killed me already? Or had everything he said been a lie?

I don't know how long Hedgely and I stayed outside, but eventually we went to sit in the room where I had spoken to Mum and Dad through the floo network. Hedgely hurled himself into an armchair and stared gloomily into the unlit fireplace.

"Hedgely," I said, shuffling nervously from foot to foot, "I know you're upset, I am too, b-but I... I don't think we should sit here and mope. We have to do something."

He turned his bloodshot, red rimmed eyes on me.

"I know," he croaked, "but before we do anything else I want to find out more about Professor Flip. How long has he been... one of them? Why did he want me to kill the _invisibilis monstrum_ if he was fighting for the same cause? What did he want _you_ for?"

I nodded.

"How are we going to find out?"

We lapsed into a thoughtful silence that was broken when Hedgely said,

"Dudley, I have an idea, but it won't be easy and it will be dangerous. Extremely dangerous. But I need your help to do it..."

I sighed.

"Hedgely, everything is dangerous. Leaving home was dangerous. Fighting monsters is dangerous. Just being alive is dangerous. Now, what do you have in mind?"

An hour later, I was shocked to find myself standing in the middle of St James' Park, London. I brushed some grass off the old pair of Hedgely's wizarding robes I was wearing, and rolled up the sleeves. Despite having fit Hedgely when he was twelve, they were still too big for me now, but at least they would help me blend in where we were going.

I scanned the parkland, taking in small children playing hide and seek and some joggers, before catching sight of Hedgely several feet away, prodding a tree.

"What are you doing?" I called as I made my way towards him.

"I think I found it!" he exclaimed, shoving his wand into a knot in the tree. The bark on the trunk rolled back to reveal a secret doorway. I blinked.

"This is the entrance to-"

"Shh!" Hedgely pressed his finger to his lips in a 'be quiet' gesture.

"The entrance changes so people like us don't get in! Security's very strict these days," he whispered, "Do you remember what you have to do?"

I nodded.

"I keep my head down and try to blend in. I don't say anything, let you do any talking and do whatever you tell me to."

Hedgely let out a breath.

"Okay. Let's go!"

He took hold of my elbow and guided me through the opening. It was very dark and I was overwhelmed by the sensation of falling, before light flooded my vision and my feet touched down on a polished marble floor.

I gasped at the sight of witches and wizards bustling past, wearing their billowing robes and odd hats. Paper aeroplanes, that I assumed were enchanted, soared high above their heads, near the high, domed ceiling. Fireplaces lined the walls, each with a bucket of Floo powder next to it. In the centre of the room stood a horrific statue, to which I immediately turned my back, with a shudder.

"Welcome," Hedgely breathed in my ear, "to the Ministry of Magic, home to crimes and corruption."

He steered me away from the statue towards a row of empty elevators. We chose one at random, and Hedgely pressed one of the golden buttons that dotted the wall next to the doors. As they were about to close, a short woman wearing a bright pink dress patterned with kittens called out shrilly,

"Hold the lift!"

Hedgely stiffened and reached over to open the door for her. She nodded her gratitude before tottering into the lift to stand in front of me. The top of her head barely reached my chin, and I could see the dandruff that sprinkled her greying brown hair. I shuffled away from her in disgust. She eyed Hedgely and I with her bulging, toad-like eyes.

"You boys look awfully young to be in the Ministry. Do you have a problem?"

Hedgely's face paled, and when he didn't answer her, I blurted out,

"We're just looking for the toilet!"

Hedgely shot me a poisonous look and the woman raised her eyebrows. Hedgely gave a tentative laugh and clamped his hand on my shoulder,

"Please excuse my brother," he said, "He's just joking. We are here to complain about the Floo network. It has been awfully slow recently, and it has been a great inconvenience to our family."

The woman nodded understandingly.

"I have the exact same problem! If the network was any slower, I would have been late to work today! When you get to the Department of Magical Transportation, you tell Edger Brown that Dolores Umbridge supports your complaint."

"Thank you," Hedgely forced a smile, which she returned, before turning her amphibious gaze on me.

"And you," she wagged her finger in a condescending manner, "stop making jokes that embarrass your poor brother. Looking for the toilet, indeed!"

She gave a high, tinkling laugh, causing the green locket around her neck to glitter as it caught the light. She was still cackling when the lift arrived at her floor, and she stalked off down a long corridor.

When the doors closed behind her, Hedgely rounded on me.

"What did I tell you?" he hissed, "_Don't say anything!" _

Before I could defend myself, the doors swung open again, and Hedgely got out. I scrambled after him, making sure I didn't get lost in this peculiar place.

I didn't know how Hedgely knew where he was going, but we eventually stopped outside an oak door marked with the letters **E** and **F**, that Hedgely opened and stuck his head inside.

"Right," he said, "There's nobody there. I'll stand here and distract anyone that tries to go in, while you look for a file on Professor Flip. Read it quickly, but put it back in the same place or they'll notice."

He shoved me roughly through the door, clearly still upset that I told that weird women we were looking for the toilet. I found myself in a room filled with large, metal filing cabinets, each labelled with two or three letters.

The cabinet I was looking for was near the back of the room. I flicked through folders, each with a name and photograph attached to it. I learned that Janet Farrell suffered from acne, Herbert Fergus sported a large pair of glasses and that Jeremy Fillis was recently deceased, before I found what I was looking for. Archibald Flip's file didn't have a photograph; instead, bright red letters spelled out the words **HIGHLY DANGEROUS**.

I took the file out of the cabinet with shaking hands, and flicked it open. I skimmed the first few pages, but came to a stop when a paragraph about 'death eaters' caught my eye.

**Flip was part of the Dark Lord's inner circle before his disappearance. He spent a period of time in Azkaban. **

Why had he been in Azkaban? The name sounded familiar. I thought it was a small, eastern country, but I wasn't sure why. Had Dad's drill company traded with the people in Azkaban? But why would Professor Flip go there?

I shrugged the confusion off and read on, about how he had been the only death eater to confess to his crimes and beg for forgiveness. The ministry agreed to let him leave Azkaban under various conditions, as he would be useful to them because...

I stopped in my tracks and read the sentence again. And again. And again. It didn't change. I sank to the floor, cradling the file on my lap, sweat beading my forehead.

That couldn't be true. It couldn't. But it made sense as to why Professor Flip had enjoyed seeing the _invisibilis monstrum _and hadn't tried to escape them. Because Professor Flip didn't just study them... he had created them.


	13. A Familiar Stranger

**Chapter 13 **

"**After swearing an Unbreakable Vow to help destroy his creation, Flip was confined to his house where he has remained to date."**

After I had finished reading the last page, I tucked Professor Flip's file back into the cabinet, my mind reeling. How could he have created the invisible monsters? Was it possible for a wizard to invent a whole new species?

I pondered how to give Hedgely further bad news about his father figure as I left the room, sweeping it over with a gaze to be sure that no evidence of my having been there remained.

"Dudley-" Hedgely began from where he stood slouched outside the door, but he was cut off by a stout, balding man, who shouted,

"Hey! What are you doin' outside my office?"

Hedgely mimed zipping his lips closed at me before turning to face him.

"Sorry, sir," Hedgely smiled weakly, "we got lost."

The man stepped closer to us, examining our faces with narrowed eyes.

"Got lost whilst going where? You look awfully young to be in the Ministry."

"We were going to the Department of Magical Transportation to complain-"

"Don't give me 'at boy, I weren't born yesterday," the man barked out a laugh, "if you were goin' there, you would 'ave took the lift to that floor. But you've ended up here, 'aven't you, on the other side of the buildin'. What are you really doin' 'ere?"

Hedgely gulped his throat bobbing. My hands started to sweat when he didn't buy our lies.

"We.. we're just... looking for the toilet!" Hedgely stammered, his face flushing bright red.

Despite the circumstances, I couldn't help but flash him a triumphant look at the pathetic excuse he had tortured me for using less than twenty minutes ago.

The man raised his eyebrows.

"Lookin' for the toilet, are you? I don't believe that for a minute! You are a pair of escaped Mudbloods, ain't you?"

I wasn't sure what a Mudblood was, but it didn't sound positive so I shook my head vigorously while Hedgely exclaimed,

"No! Of course not! We're Purebloods, both of us."

The man smiled, revealing crooked, yellow teeth.

"Then you won't mind if I take you 'round to the courtrooms for a couple of questions then."

"No, No!" Hedgely waved his hand dismissively, "You don't need to do that."

"Oh, but indeed I do..."

The man whipped his wand out of his robes and flicked it upwards, emitting a spray of red sparks. Seconds later, two large, burly wizards appeared around the corner. I backed away as far as I could before colliding with the wall.

"This is not necessary, we are Pureblooded wizards!"

"Yeah, we'll see about that, kid," said the man, before turning to what I could only assume were wizard security guards, saying,

"I caught these Mudbloods wandering around. _Real _wizards would know their way 'round the Ministry of Magic!"

He looked at us smugly, as the security wizards grasped our arms and pulled us back along the corridor. Hedgely tried to wriggle out of his escort's grip but only succeeded in having his other arm clamped down as well. I was too panicked to attempt to escape. I felt like a criminal who had been arrested for his crimes, when really I had done nothing wrong except, of course, snooping around a government building.

When we reached the lifts, I plucked up the courage to ask where we were going.

"To be interrogated," Hedgely said, twisting to speak to me over his security wizard's beefy shoulder. My heart was pounding so hard I was surprised I hadn't yet had a heart attack. At that moment, it would almost have been a blessing.

When the doors of the lift glided open and I was shoved over the threshold, I realised that I was in the same corridor where the woman Hedgely and I had shared a lift with earlier, had got out. As we drew closer, I could make out a line of people sitting on a hard, wooden bench at the end of the long hallway. They were all pale and frightened- looking – one man was even rocking backwards and forwards, his hands knotted tightly in his dark hair. A tall, hard-faced wizard leaned against the wall opposite the bench, glaring at the people sitting upon it.

"Howard!" called the security wizard who had been dragging me along. Howard raised his gaze towards us at the sound of his name.

"Mudbloods, caught trying to escape," said the security wizard, pushing me towards Howard.

"How many times do I have to tell you, we aren't Muggleborn!" Hedgely pleaded.

Howard smiled crookedly.

"That's what they all say," he said, pulling his wand out to point it at us. "Sit on the bench!"

Unable to find an alternative that didn't involve my own death, I obeyed and sank onto the cold wood, shuffling up to make room for Hedgely. The woman next to me had her eyes closed and appeared to be praying rapidly in a foreign language. _What were they doing to these people? _

After dismissing the security wizards, Howard leaned over Hedgely and tied his hands together, before moving on to do the same to me.

"Don't want you running off again, do we?" he breathed in my ear.

I recoiled at the smell of his rotten breath and attempted to tug my hands free from their bonds, to no avail.

"Dudley," Hedgely whispered between clenched teeth, "the Ministry are questioning all Muggleborns, you have to pretend to be Pure-"

"No talking," snarled Howard, glaring in our direction. Hedgely sighed and I slumped backwards against the wall. A familiar coldness crept up my spine and I felt utterly unhappy and depressed, like I could just cry for the rest of my life and-

I jerked forward, trying to clear my head and throw off the thoughts that were not mine. I squirmed in my seat, bringing happy thoughts to the forefront of my mind.

_Presents stacked in the kitchen on my birthday. The first day of the summer holidays, marking two whole months of freedom. Trips to the seaside with Mum and Dad..._

My reverie shattered as shouts and screams drifted through the door that stood ajar at the very end of the corridor. Hedgely's ears pricked up, Howard stood up straight and even the woman next to me raised her head.

I couldn't help but gasp as an enormous silver stag galloped through the doorway and up the hallway, closely followed by a smaller otter. A man and two women emerged after them.

"It's decided that you should all go home and go into hiding with your families," the man told us, looking at each person in turn. When his green-eyed gaze locked briefly with mine, his eyes widened slightly with recognition and my heart rate quickened before he turned to Hedgely. I knew him from somewhere, I was sure of it but how could I possibly know a wizard?

My train of thought was interrupted by Hedgely, who shouldered me.

"Move, quickly!"

I looked up to see all the Muggleborns who had been seated on the bench stampeding towards the staircase beside the lifts like a herd of buffalo, trampling Howard in their wake. I chased after them with difficulty due to my tied hands. I followed them up the tightly twisting spiral staircase, their whoops of glee echoing off the stone walls. I glanced over my shoulder several times to make sure Hedgely was still behind me after our liberation.

When the stairs opened out into the atrium, where we had been earlier, the formerly bustling place was now positively crammed full of people, all of them standing still, transfixed, staring at something out of my field of vision. I stood on my toes and craned my neck to see what it was. A red haired boy in an oversized suit stood kissing a woman who was at least twice his age, while a man wearing just his underwear looked on in horror. Beside him, was a girl with bushy brown hair and a familiar dark haired, bespectacled figure. I returned to my own height with a thump.

Harry was here, had been here this whole time. It was he who had set the Muggleborns free, disguised as an older man, I knew it was.

I jumped when a large hand clamped down on my shoulder. I turned to see a dark skinned man standing behind me, one hand on my shoulder the other on Hedgely's.

"Muggleborns?" he asked.

I opened my mouth to say no, but Hedgely beat me to it.

"Yes!" he said, nodding vigorously, "We are."

The man twirled his wand in between his fingers and the ropes binding our hands fell to the floor. He beckoned for us to follow him, and started moving stealthily through the crowd. I looked to Hedgely for confirmation before following him.

"Kingsley Shacklebolt," Hedgely told me, "He's a member of the Order."

Kingsley led us to a door on the far side of the atrium.

"Go quickly," he told us, "get as far from here as you can and lay low until the war is over."

Without waiting to be thanked he melted back into the crowd. Hedgely took hold of my arm and we went through the door. A busy London street flashed before my eyes before the tug of Disapparation took me back to Professor Flip's house.

I lay back in the cool grass to catch my breath. Hedgely loomed above me, his fingers laced behind his head, staring at the sky.

"I don't know about you Dudley, but I could do with a Firewhiskey right now."

"Sounds good, after that nightmare," I agreed. Hedgely held out his hand to help me up.

"I'll get the drinks, and then you can tell me what was in the file, before we decide what we are going to do next."


	14. Useful at Last

**Chapter 14 **

_The sun was a dying, orange semi-circle as it sank slowly into the horizon, turning the sea a deep shade of indigo. Darkness would soon be upon us. A glance over my shoulder told me I was the last one to return home, as I swooped low and landed, causing some yearlings to flutter out of my way to avoid being squashed. I stalked to my usual sleeping spot and fell asleep to the sound of human weeping._

I shot upright, panting, drenched in a cold sweat. _Only a nightmare_, I told myself, _just a bad dream. Or was it? _ A plan started to form in my mind as I took in the sight of Professor Flip's sitting room. Empty bottles of Firewhiskey cluttered the floor and half eaten packets of Chocolate Frogs were scattered around the room. Hedgely had taken the information I had found in Professor Flip's file surprisingly well and we had spent the rest of the night celebrating our narrow escape from the Ministry. I had eventually fallen asleep in a reclining armchair, while Hedgely lay sprawled on the sofa, his mouth hanging open.

"Hedgely," I called, "Hedgely!"

When he remained unresponsive, I dug out a pillow from behind my head and threw it at him. He jerked awake with a start.

"Dudley! What did you do that for? I almost had a heart attack!"

"I have an idea," I took a deep breath; "I think I know how we can defeat the _invisibilis monstrum_."

Hedgely's eyes widened and he sat up straight, his face lost all trace of humour and became serious.

"Well, I had another nightmare," I explained, "but, from it, I think that all of the monsters return to that island by sunset. So at night, they're all there, in one place, sound asleep..."

Hedgely gasped.

"Are you suggesting we murder them while they're vulnerable?"

I paused.

"Yes. Yes, I am."

Hedgely grinned.

"Dudley, you're an evil genius! Do you know how many are on the island? I didn't get a chance to look the last time I was there and had to flee for my life."

"Quite a lot. More than a hundred, but less than two hundred, I would say."

Hedgely frowned.

"Oh. That's more than I expected. For this to work we're going to need back-up, but everybody is already preoccupied with Death Eaters and the Dark Lord..."

Silence hung in the air like a bad smell, as we both struggled to find a solution to our seemingly unsolvable problem.

"Hedgely," I said after a lengthy thought process.

"Dudley."

"How do you feel about teaching?"

"What do you mean?"

"What would you say about teaching Squibs how to kill invisible monsters?"

Hedgely blinked.

"You mean, like, build a Squib army?"

"Yes, I suppose so. Is it possible?"

"I think so. We'll need a plan, a well thought out strategy. And we'd need Squibs to agree to fight with us."

Hedgely left the room and returned with a bulging, spiral-bound address book. After flicking through it, he said,

"Professor Flip knew lots of people. Hopefully they are all still live at these addresses, so I can visit and ask them for help."

"Can't Squids use the Floo network?" I asked.

"Yes," Hedgely replied, "but I think asking them to risk their lives fighting monsters calls for a face to face chat, don't you?"

"Fair enough."

I spent the next half hour pacing around the room like a caged animal, desperate to get going and do something, while Hedgely compiled a list of Squib names and addresses on a separate sheet of paper so he didn't have to haul a book around all day.

"Right," he said, eons later, "I think we're ready to go!"

"What shall I do while you're describing the honour and glory of monster slaying?"

"Well," Hedgely looked sheepish, "there's someone I want you to talk to. On your own."

I raised my eyebrows.

"I don't think anyone will want to talk to me, I'm a Muggle, remember? I don't know anything about magic; I'm not exactly qualified to ask them to sacrifice their lives for it."

"Oh, I think this particular person would rather speak with you than with me."

"Who is this idiot?"

Hedgely unfolded the list and read,

"Arabella Figg of Little Whinging, Surrey."

My jaw hit the floor.

"Mrs Figg? My _neighbour _Mrs Figg? Mrs Figg, whom I have known for seventeen years and has always appeared normal, if you overlook her obsession with cats and inability to buy proper shoes, is a Squib?"

"Yes."

"And you want me to ask her to come and fight with us?"

"Yes."

"Even though she's like eighty and doesn't have magic?"

"She just turned fifty-four, and nobody else, except me, will have magic either."

I was still protesting about recruiting poor old Mrs Figg when the tug of Disapparation shut me up. When we arrived in Little Whinging the first thing I noticed was how out of place Hedgely, in his crumpled robes he had worn yesterday, looked among the identical houses and perfectly clipped lawns. I then remembered that I was still wearing his old robes, which meant I probably looked equally out of place in my home town, where I had lived my entire life, up until I was uprooted by wizards.

"I'll come back for you later!"

Hedgely waved at me as he disappeared again. I stood at the bottom of Mrs Figg's worn tarmac driveway, steeling myself to go and bang the cat head knocker.

_One, two, three, go! _

I forced my leaden legs into action, moving forwards at a snail's pace that was faster than I wanted it to be. My hands were shaking so much that when I finally arrived at my destination I could barely knock.

"Dudley!" Mrs Figg exclaimed as she opened the door. I was forced to take a step backwards at the overwhelming smell of cabbage that wafted over the threshold.

"Uh, hello, I was wondering if I could talk to you for a minute?" I mumbled.

"Of course," Mrs Figg smiled, exposing a pair of pearly white dentures, "come in! It isn't often I get a visitor from these parts!"

I wonder why, I thought to myself, as I moved past her into a small hallway and almost tripped over a fat ginger cat that hissed indignantly at me. Mrs Figg closed the door, a barrier between me and fresh air that I sorely missed two seconds into our separation, and ushered me into the living room. I was careful to breathe through my mouth as I entered the living room, where yet another cat sat beside a small girl wearing an ugly tartan dress and knee socks. She was knitting a long puke-coloured scarf that flowed to the floor and coiled around her feet. She looked up, surprised, as I came in.

"This is my granddaughter, Doris!" Mrs Figg cooed, "I'll put the kettle on. Make yourself at home Dudley!"

"I was, um, hoping to speak with you... in private," I said, hoping I didn't sound rude.

"Oh, Doris and I are exactly the same, anything you say to me, you can say to her," Mrs Figg winked at me as she left the room, as if she already knew what I had to ask her. Was that her way of telling me that Doris was a Squib too? I smiled at her as I perched on the edge brown armchair that had springs escaping from the bottom of it. She blinked at me from behind a large pair of glasses that magnified her muddy brown eyes to the size of saucers. Her hair was pulled back in two braids, and tied with ribbons that matched her dress. Her knitting needles clacked together, making me feel even more nervous than I already was.

"That's a nice scarf," I lied, in an attempt to make conversation. Without taking her oversized eyes off me, she set her knitting down on the floor and shoved the cat off the sofa, patting the place it had sat beside her. When I remained unresponsive, the patting became more insistent.

"Oh, you- you want me to sit next to you?" I stammered.

Doris nodded, her plaits bobbing. I didn't want to refuse and upset the granddaughter of the woman from whom I needed a favour, so I obliged and gingerly took the seat beside her, hyperaware that it was warm from where the cat had sat. Doris shuffled closer to me, so that her entire short leg was pressed against my thigh. I could feel my face turning scarlet as she leaned closer, her pointy elbow jabbing into my forearm. I scooted away from her. This was inappropriate. She couldn't have been more than thirteen.

She moved over, closing the distance I had put between us, creepily staring at me the entire time. Where was Mrs Figg when her silent granddaughter was harassing me? How long did it take to make tea?

I leapt off the sofa and moved to stand by the window, hoping that Hedgely had come back early. The door banged open and Mrs Figg came in, carrying just one cup of tea, that was tinged an odd green colour. She sat down in the brown armchair, seemingly unaware that there were no springs left to hold up her weight. Taking a sip of tea, she said,

"Sit on the sofa, Dudley; you look awkward hovering over there."

Something flashed in Doris's eyes.

"Uh, no, I'm fine standing, thanks."

Mrs Figg shrugged.

"Now, what was it you wanted to talk about?"

I inhaled sharply, and struggled not to gag on the foul smell that neither Mrs Figg nor Doris seemed to notice.

"I don't know where to start..."

"How about at the beginning?" Mrs Figg suggested.

Somehow I managed to stutter out the whole story about seeing the _invisibilis monstrum _and Professor Flip and our plan to defeat them. I could feel Doris's unwavering stare on me while I talked and made a conscious effort to not look in her direction. When I had finished, Mrs Figg drained her suspicious green concoction and said,

"Of course we'll help you, both of us will!"

"Really?" I was surprised that Mrs Figg was so willing to lay her life on the line, Doris's life I was not so surprised about.

"Of course, we'll do our bit for the war effort. We'll come back to Professor Flip's house with you later."

"That's great!"

I wasn't sure if I should be pleased I had done what I came here to do, or if I was worried about having to spend more time with Doris. I looked out the window again, hoping Hedgely would be there, but the street was empty, apart from a plump woman who was pruning her rose garden.

"I know what to do while we wait!" I turned to find Mrs Figg standing behind me, an enormous photo album under her arm, "We can show you the pictures Doris and I took when we went on a trip to the National Cat Museum!"


End file.
